ACIDITY OF DEGRADED SOILS OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS OF THE DONETSK PEOPLES REPUBLIC

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to study the acidity of degraded agricultural soils. The main objectives of the research were to study the actual and potential soil acidity of agricultural lands of the Donetsk Peoples Republic on the example of agricultural farms in the northern part of the Shakhtyorsky district. It was established that the studied model sites are characterized by a slightly acidic, neutral or slightly alkaline medium reaction, which creates favorable conditions for the formation of crops and plant growth. When studying the exchangeable acidity of soils, the ambiguity of changes in its values was established, depending on the location of the model sites, the system of soil content in the crop rotation, the horizon, and other factors. Th e most exceeding the control values of the exchange acidity are characteristic of the slope surfaces of sites where the intensity of erosion processes reaches a maximum (exceeding the indicator compared to the control by average of 8,6%). In the future, increased values of exchangeable acidity may adversely affect the formation of crop yields. Changes in the values of hydrolytic acidity of soils follow the same regularity as the variation in the indices of exchangeable acidity. The most significant excess of the hydrolytic acidity index in comparison with the control was recorded on the slope sites of the fields (increase by 11-17%). The conducted studies confirm the need for constant agroecological monitoring of these lands with the regulation of mineral fertilizers to increase the absorption capacity of soils due to increased values of exchangeable and hydrolytic acidity.